Libertarians for Ron Paul » Civil Liberty
The Libertarian Party says that Republicans and Democrats have failed the American people by allowing telecommunication companies complicit in the Bush administration’s illegal wiretap program to go without punishment.
“Civil liberties were violated, and only 28 senators cared to see justice served,” says Libertarian Party spokesperson Andrew Davis, “and Barack Obama was not one of them.”
The Libertarian Party has repeatedly called for the rejection of any amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that empowered the government to spy on American citizens and granted immunity to companies complicit in illegal surveillance operations.
Full release from The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/telecom-immunity-fails-to-render-justice-to-the-american-people
“Online activists from the right and the left announced an unprecedented campaign Tuesday to hold Democratic lawmakers accountable for caving in to the Bush administration on domestic spying.”
Credit: Eggman
“A group of high-profile progressive bloggers and libertarian Republicans are rolling out a new political action committee called Accountability Now to channel widespread anger over pending legislation that would legalize much of the president’s warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans, and grant retroactive legal immunity to telephone companies that cooperated with the spying when it was still illegal.”
Wire Magazine reports on this new alliance:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/online-activist.html
“The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions. We do not have the right to rob our neighbors to make up for our mistakes, neither does our neighbor have any right to tell us how to live, so long as we aren’t infringing on their rights. Freedom to make bad decisions is inherent in the freedom to make good ones. If we are only free to make good decisions, we are not really free.”
“Socialist ideologies blur this line between self reliance and government control because the mistakes of the individual are spread to everyone else. Thus the government becomes very interested in your decisions and way of life, with the justification that you could make a mistake others will have to pay for. The end result is, of course, that everyone loses privacy and control over their own lives. Whether they realize it or not, they are no longer truly free.”
“This week in Congress brought some examples from both sides of the aisle on these issues of freedom and personal responsibility. We talked about online gambling quite a bit with the markup of some legislation dealing with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Now, I am not someone who enjoys throwing money away, but I am someone who understands issues of freedom and self-ownership. As such, I strongly support the right of free people to do with their hard-earned money as they please. Gambling is ultimately a matter of personal choice, and some people find it entertaining. As long as I am not forced to underwrite their losses, it is none of my business what gamblers do with their time and money.”
Full column by Rep. Ron Paul @ http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003412.html
“A bill essentially legalizing Bush’s warrantless surveillance program just sailed through the Democratic House and is expected to sail through the Democratic Senate. It would expand wiretapping powers against foreign targets, extend the grace period of warrantless domestic eavesdropping on Americans at home, and grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies that cooperated in illegal domestic spying. The New York Times calls it “the most significant revision of surveillance law in 30 years,” but it is also just the latest example in 30 years of Democratic betrayals of the Fourth Amendment.”
“In 1978, Democratic President Carter signed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act into law. A meager response to Nixon’s surveillance of peaceful activists and other such abuses, FISA established a secret court within the Justice Department to issue special warrants for wiretapping foreign suspects. Even when spying on a “United States person,” intelligence officials now had 72 hours before they needed a warrant. Carter said in his signing statement, “This is a difficult balance to strike, but the act I am signing today strikes it.” The Fourth Amendment lost its teeth.”
“From 1979 to September 11, 2001, more than thirteen thousand FISA warrants were issued. Not a single application was rejected.”
“But that wasn’t enough for Bush…” Anthony Gregory looks at how Democrats enabled President Bush in his latest attack on liberty http://independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2244
Rep. Ron Paul has joined with Rep. Barney Frank to introduce a bill in Congress that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible adult cannabis consumers. The measure, H.R. 5843, known as an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” is the first federal decriminalization legislation introduced in 24 years.
More complete info @ http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7581
Congressman Ron Paul said - It has been said that “he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.” And in the case of Eliot Spitzer this couldn’t be more true. In his case it’s the political sword, as his enemies rejoice in his downfall. Most people, it seems, believe he got exactly what he deserved.The illegal tools of the state brought Spitzer down, but think of all the harm done by Spitzer in using the same tools against so many other innocent people. He practiced what could be termed “economic McCarthyism,” using illegitimate government power to build his political career on the ruined lives of others.
No matter how morally justified his comeuppance may be, his downfall demonstrates the worst of our society. The possibility of uncovering personal moral wrongdoing is never a justification for the government to spy on our every move and to participate in sting operations.
For government to entice a citizen to break a law with a sting operation – that is, engaging in activities that a private citizen is prohibited by law from doing — is unconscionable and should clearly be illegal.
Though Spitzer used the same tools to destroy individuals charged with economic crimes that ended up being used against him, gloating over his downfall should not divert our attention from the fact that the government spying on American citizens is unworthy of a country claiming respect for liberty and the fourth amendment.
Full release @ http://pressmediawire.com/article.cfm?articleID=18362
On Tuesday, March 11, the US House of Representatives voted for the version of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008 that banned waterboarding and other forms of torture. The measure, previously passed by Congress, was vetoed by President Bush. This vote was an attempt to override the veto. It passed 225-188, but failed to get the 2/3 requirement to override the veto.
Only five Republicans voted to support the torture ban over the veto. Here is the speech Rep. Ron Paul gave before the vote: http://www.antiwar.com/paul/index.php?articleid=12509
“When forced to answer questions regarding torture, as in the recent debate surrounding the technique known as waterboarding, administration officials dismiss such discussions as improper talk of vital national security matters; denigrate and dismiss such discussions as “silly,” as Vice President Dick Cheney did in a recent interview; or deflect criticism by adding a waffle word in front of the operative term and sliding away. The administration and its supporters rely on the unfortunate propensity of many journalists, members of Congress, and others to accept whatever explanation is proffered without probing beneath the surface.’
“Waterboarding as an interrogation technique has been employed for centuries as a tool with which to elicit information from prisoners. The fact that the technique often achieves the desired result—confessions—even as it leaves no obvious physical evidence accounts for much of its popularity by practitioners, from the time of the Spanish Inquisition to Nazi Germany. Waterboarding causes excruciating physical pain as the immobilized victim’s lungs fill with water. At the same time, the process inflicts profound psychological pain by creating the very real impression in the victim’s mind that he faces imminent death by drowning. Waterboarding is, in essence, a torturer’s best friend—easy, quick, and nonevidentiary. It had always been considered torture by civilized governments such as ours—until, of course, this administration. ”
Full column by Former Congressman Bob Barr @ http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0801.barr.html
“It was one year ago this week that narcotics officers in Atlanta, Georgia broke into the home of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.”
“They had earlier arrested a man with a long rap sheet on drug charges. That man told the police officers that they’d find a large stash of cocaine in Johnston’s home. When police forced their way into Johnston’s home, she met them holding a rusty old revolver, fearing she was about to be robbed. The police opened fire, and killed her.”
“Shortly after the shooting, the police alleged that they had paid an informant to buy drugs from Ms. Johnston’s home. They said she fired at them first, and wounded two officers. And they alleged they found marijuana in her home.”
“We now know that these were all lies. In fact, everything about the Kathryn Johnston murder was corrupt.”
Radley Balko looks at armed police raids that often result in innocent people being victimized http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312240,00.html